Cherry Dress/Skirt

My little one just turned three months old, which I can hardly believe! For her milestone pictures, I decided to get crafty and make a cute outfit for her. While browsing mommy blogs, I came across two dresses that I liked and decided to combine elements of both. The first dress is called the Simple Raglan Dress from a guest post on the blog icandy handmade and the second is called the Vintage Heirloom Dress from the blog Craftiness Is Not Optional (My absolute favorite sewing blog!). I decided to use the Simple Raglan Dress with the pleated sleeve as the main form of the dress but added a lining to the bodice since I was using a mostly white fabric. I borrowed styling from the Vintage Heirloom Dress, using a similarly adorable fabric and the cute button embellishment on the bodice. I was so excited with the way it turned out!

It was definitely a challenge as it was my first attempt inserting an invisible zipper. I had to rip out the seams and try again, but when all was said and done, it looked pretty good for a first timer…at least I think so. I was a little bummed that the red accent fabric didn’t line up correctly in the back. Maybe I got a little overzealous with the embellishments for a novice sewer. Even with that little set back, I was very pleased, perhaps even a little smug that I had created such an adorable dress for my sweet little girl. With that being said, we all know what smugness and overconfidence lead to….

Once I had my little one try on the dress, it was apparent that the sizing had gone horribly wrong. That didn’t stop her from smiling away, though. I swear that she somehow knew I made something special just for her. After holding her in different positions and tugging and tucking fabric here and there to see if there was a way to fix it, I finally admitted to myself that it was a hopeless cause. With this experience, I am convinced that it is almost impossible to make fitted clothes fit correctly on a newborn baby. They are just too amorphous and blobby, especially for someone as inexperienced as I am at sewing.

After admitting defeat, I decided to salvage the bottom part of the dress and turn it into a skirt. I bought some red tulle to add extra cuteness, and in hindsight, I should have also bought some red ribbon for the bow, which would have looked a lot better than the white I had on hand. Although I sort of rushed through it and didn’t quite sew everything together in the optimal way, I think it looks great, and more importantly, it fit! And the cuteness factor was definitely brought to a whole new level with the cherry socks, a gift from my Aunt Pam.